Do you feel bad for receiving a ‘high amount’ of UC?

[AnotherNameChange1233]

Last week I went to my local Children’s Centre and attended a Citizen’s Advice group that runs once a week.

As long as you’re registered to the Children Centre, you can turn up for any advice needed. Some people want privacy so they go into a side room with the advisor and some parents may help other parents if they’ve been in a similar situation/can offer the correct advice. It’s also like a social group for parents, hopefully you get the jist of it.

On the table I was sitting on, one parent was trying to get her head around UC as she didn’t quite understand LHA rates, how DLA impacts UC and what elements she would be entitled too. Anyway, I started speaking about my experience with DLA, UC and offered to log into my UC account if it was easier for her to look at the breakdown visually (instead of me talking and complicating things). I also got her postcode to explain how the LHA rates work and etc.

Another parent suddenly spoke up and said, ‘don’t you feel bad for claiming that much money?’ She wasn’t argumentative or anything and we had an interesting conversation but it made me think, are people like me supposed to feel bad when receiving a certain amount?

She also said something like (I’m paraphrasing here as I can’t remember it exactly word for word) if people can’t afford their rent then they should move to a more affordable area. I raised the point of Landlords purchasing properties as part of the Right to Buy scheme, charging extortionate rent which taxpayers then pay through UC. Surely, it’s more a problem that there isn’t affordable rental properties in many areas.

For full transparency, I’m going to mention all of my UC amounts and wonder if people that claim similar, feel bad?

• 292 single person allowance
• 1450 private rent
• 539 for 2 children
• 293 for 2 disabled children
• 589 childcare costs
• 189 carer

£216 is deducted from my entitlement due to my wages. That means my UC amount is £3133. My wages is £771. I receive two amounts of MRC through DLA which is £580 all together.

Now that I’ve written it down, it seems like a whole lot of money but the costs that come with raising one of my disabled children (the other still costs a lot, but not as much as the other) is through the roof due to their issues

So because you know one person with Down Syndrome that has gone on to live an independent life, you think my child will too? Even though I’ve already said that they won’t be able too. I think I know a bit more about my child and the difficulties that they have. They will not be able to live independently

No it's me being thick - I didn't see the DLA amount quoted in the OP or realise that people got a universal credit for disabled children as well as disability living allowance as two separate benefits.

What Northern cities should we ship everyone up to then? And what happens when those landlords see the ££ signs and do the same as the present landlord and jump the rent up until it matches that of London?

What next, Rwanda? 🤔

I've said nothing of the sort and made zero comment about ops lifestyle?

But no, people on benefits shouldn't be earning more than people who work full time, in any role.

Ive said nothing about anything you're referring to above about trading lives with anyone....take a breather and read peoples posts properly.

I'm not suggesting shipping people, I'm suggesting that there's maybe a cap on housing benefit and people choose where they live according to that cap. And that the cap should be well below 1.5k a month. It's no different to people choosing where they can afford to live based on the money they earn. But just living in a super expensive area and putting in a high claim shouldn't be allowed in the system, in my opinion.

(The government is also making a huge mess of immigration, since you mentioned it, but that's a very different thread.)

I’ve had to screenshot your post as it’s so kind. For some reason, you’ve reminded me not to be so hard on myself. My life has definitely gone in a different direction than I had planned but I’m still grateful for all that I have. My children may not have lives of their own like most children but they are happy and very loved. Thank you for your kindness

Use pension AVC to bring earnings below the threshold. This will cost you next to nothing in the long term.

To be honest, when I think about the cost of living, that amount is not excessive for three people. I’m single, no kids and have proportionally more, but not exactly living a life of luxury here. The real problem is WAGES, too low and what is anyone going to do about it? Oh I know, let’s blame people needing benefits, who need benefits to prop up our shite wages that are unsustainable.

A knee jerk reaction is it’s too much and I lived on cold beans etc. Look around the world, we’re not living to the same standard as countries we consider equivalent.

There are no Sure Start Children’s Centre in my area either. It’s now under a different name which I won’t say because it’s specific to my borough. You’d be able to come across it on Google but I’m certainly not making this up. I go to all the Children Centres in my borough as often as possible

Nope my response was to the poster who said you would always be caring. How could they possibly know ? Yes of course you are coming on now to clarify that they won't be able to live independently but that poster could not have known that. Wish people would read things properly before jumping down others throats.

This article is about the south, but the problem would happen anywhere in the country if loads of (often vulnerable) people keep being displaced to cheaper areas. The knock on effects on locals in the cheaper areas, due to increased housing pressure.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/property/london-exported-council-housing-problem-home-counties/

Did you get the wrong thread then @Loki64?

because if your original comment isn't actually in any way related to OPs thread, then I'm not sure why you commented at all...other than to benefits bash of course!...which however was evidently in NO way related to what the OP actually posted...hmm🤔

Yeah, maybe with the marketing.

I actually don't believe this thread is for real anyway. Op has been on here for seven hours non stop. You'd think with two young disabled kids to look after she would be getting some sleep by now. It's just a wind up intended to get people wound up. Why would anyone start a thread on this ?

I'm glad my earned taxes are going to someone like the OP.
Someone who cares for their kids, someone who works a little to stay part of society, someone who tries to help others sort out their benefits.

It could be going to some scrote who avoids work at all costs, spends the day smoking weed and working out how to get their PIP on the higher level with their internet informed mental health symptoms, turning a bling eye while their kids run riot and are persistently absent from school.

The landlord is rinsing the system as well. He knows full well that the rent rise will be covered by UC as he has investigated the OP's situation and knows the gov have to pay it.

Thanks, that's interesting.

I don't know what the answer is but I do feel that the current system is totally broken and don't agree with the OP being handed that amount of disposable income. Tories clearly can't fix it as we are where we are. I'd never vote Lib Dem as they don't seem to have a good grip on reality. Do we trust Keir Starmer's Labour to tackle issues that might make them unpopular with the leftiest lefts, like benefit reform and immigration? Doesn't seem likely. :(

Lots of people with ADHD smoke weed as a way to calm their symptoms. It's clearly an extra cost for their disability which is what PIP is paid for.
My mother in law used to smoke it to relieve her RA symptoms.

@Vampirelovebite There is a cap on housing benefit. That's why so few private landlords take people on benefits. It's also why social housing waiting lists are so long. Instead of blaming people in difficult financial or social circumstances, whether working or not, why not cut housing benefit costs by building more social homes?

But... it is. You might consider the OP 'deserving' of your taxes but with the system as it is - the second guy is getting your money too, and so is the landlord. How deserving or undeserving the OP is really isn't the issue here at all. The issue is that the system allows and even potentially incentivises people to have a high income without working. Why on earth should the weed man in your second scenario have more money each month than most nurses, for example?

Weed is a very, very bad idea for people with ADHD. Illegal drugs are not what PIP is paid for. I really hope you're joking with that.

Okay, I see your reasoning. My concern with that idea is that the private landlords (who are the folks really benefitting here) will continue to exploit charging as much as possible as well as the admin, additional costs and upheaval associated with putting the onus on those affected to move away from what they know, their potentially already established support systems. For me it feels fairer to ensure that the landlords are held to account in all this. As OP said herself, the like for like council accommodation downstairs is 425 a month compared to what she pays. I feel like everyone wants to target the wrong people.

And yet when single mums who earn that much in busy careers come on and say they can't make their similar salary stretch far enough, or when mums post how tough life is on (eg ) 2x£30k salaries they are always told over and over again to check their privilege/that they have a mind boggling high household income and must be bad at budgeting etc....

I am saying this purely with curiosity as someone who earns more than this myself (but only at the expense of being too ill to do much outside of work as it is such a fight to keep working with my disability). But it's weird to see this touted as an income that will generate a luxury lifestyle when someone goes to work to earn it but a totally reasonable amount for a "benefits" lifestyle. The inconsistencies of Mumsnet are fascinating.

I expect it's a reflection of our skewed housing market more than anything. We need decent social housing everywhere for those in need. And decent regulation of private rents and conditions in private rented property too .

There isn’t much point for me to claim carers allowance (bar the NI credits) as it gets deducted from UC in full. So I’ll receive carers allowance and get it deducted from my UC. However, if I can no longer manager my hours, I will probably have to decrease them and that would take me under the threshold for carers allowance. I’d probably apply for it then but it’s not completely necessary if you understand what I mean

Completely agree with you 100% on the building of more social homes. AND affordable homes for young working people. I live in a fairly cheap/run down area and despite being a two-income professional working family, there hasn't been a new build on the market in our town in a decade that we could even vaguely afford.

That’s the market cost of rent where op lives. If there was a cheaper alternative I have no doubt op would take it.

I imagine op lives in London so buying a house would be incredibly expensive too. So anyone renting out a house would have huge mortgage costs to cover with the rent. No landlord will get very far telling the bank the mortgage is too much and their tenant is a single mum so some mumsnet contributor thinks they shouldn’t have to pay. It’s just a daft thing to say.

Let’s hope the landlord can afford to continue to keep renting out their property- otherwise op will have nowhere to live. Landlords selling up due to anti landlord laws and policies is the main contributor to rising rents and scarcity of rental properties.

And lol at the “brainless” comment. What a silly thing to say

Most LL's don't want to rent to people on UC/Benefits. The government forces landlords to rent to people on benefits. Its law.